


He's everything the Devil can't beat

by LinRiverSongBeifong



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Who gaves these two the right!, i love this ship so much!, i'm not ready for END GAME!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-15 07:02:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18493819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinRiverSongBeifong/pseuds/LinRiverSongBeifong
Summary: For all the moments never known'Cause he stepped off of the tallest sailFor all the love he's left below in the wavesHe made his peace with letting goSaid some things he'd never dared to sayThe one the lighthouse left alone, never saves'Til set of eyes had pinned himBecause his version of a kingdomNow I know they'll never hunt me-------Tony and Scott traveled through space and time to try and find a way to beat Thanos. They hadn't meant to end up in a different Universe altogether.





	He's everything the Devil can't beat

**Author's Note:**

> My second STONY fic!!! This time with a twist!!! Hope you guys like it and if you do leave a comment down below!!

They had planned on going back in time, hell even going forward to try and sneak a peek at the outcome of this god-forsaken battle. They hadn’t meant to travel through space and end up in a different universe altogether. Especially not in Tony’s workshop.

“What does the vortex manipulator say?” Tony asked tightly, his eyes roaming the familiar shop and noting little changes here and there. Like his desk was clean for once, the only thing on top of it was a picture that he couldn’t quite make out from where he was standing.

Scott looked down at the tinny device in his hand. “It says that we’re in Universe Alpha 0531.” He furrowed his brow in confusion as he tried to figure out what had gotten them so far off their mark. “What does that even fucking mean?”.

Tony quickly decided that further investigation was needed to find the answers that they needed and maybe even a solution to their little problem back home. Little was a gross understatement, but Tony dealt with it better. It was easier to think that they had a chance at all. “Let’s see who’s home and we’ll get some clarification. If we’re lucky I’ll be here and we’ll get back home in no time.”

Both men hurried up the stairs to reach the main floor. At this point, Tony figured that they were in the compound. Everything seemed to be the same, but there were little things that kept catching Tony’s eyes. First it was the lack of security, then it was the silence, lastly, there was something strange about the air of the compound. It was hard to explain; it didn’t feel cold or even filled with the tension of an incoming mission. Tony could only explain it as warm, his heart gave a strange tug and he tried to rid himself of the feeling.

When they finally made it above ground everything was the same, but small things were out of place. There was a small stack of dishes in the sink, a half-finished glass of orange juice on the kitchen island and a laptop forgotten right next to it. The living room was furnished with a long L-shaped sofa that was covered in blankets, and a flat-screen TV mutely playing some movie that Tony had never seen before.

There was clearly a person still living in the compound.

“Someone’s here…” Tony said as he walked closer to the abandoned laptop. He quickly went through the chances of him breaking into the laptop and seeing as it was him, it wouldn’t be too hard. Tony just hoped that no one walked in while he did it.  “Keep a lookout Scotty.” He asked

The Universe was not having any of Tony’s little antics because as soon as he reached out to take the laptop he heard a voice from down the hall. “Yes, I know. I haven’t stayed in the workshop after midnight,” There was a pause. “You know for a fact that Daddy would never let me.” Then there was a laugh.

Female… The voice was female and she was young, but Tony couldn’t figure out just how young.

Then she walked into the living room with a dazzling smile. Her big brown eyes were bright and the grin she wore made the corners wrinkle in glee. Deep brown hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail and all she wore was an oversized t-shirt and sweats. The girl looked like she had just rolled out of bed.

For a long moment, she didn’t even notice the two men in her living room. Whoever she was talking to had her full attention.

All Scott and Tony could do was watch as she entered fully into the living room.

Twenty-seven seconds passed before her eyes glanced up and caught sight of the intruders in her home. Her eyes went wide, her face paled, and her entire body went stiff. She never once lost the bright cheerful note in her voice when she spoke again. “I’ll call you tonight after dinner, love you.”

Silence smothered all three of them, making it almost impossible to force a word out of their lips.

Almost impossible…

“You look funny in blonde.” The girl admitted softly.

Tony took a step forward. His gaze glued to the girl in front of her. He kept noticing small things about her that made his heart hammer away in his chest. It started with her nose, sharp and slightly pointed downward. Her face a soft oval shape that brought out her delicate cheekbones. Then there were her lips that were turned down in a frown. He hadn’t seen those lips in decades, the last time he did they looked just like the girl’s. It reminded him of his mother.

His silence pushed the girl to move closer. “You’re not from here, are you?”

Scott snapped out of whatever trance he was in and smiled brightly at the girl. “No, we’re actually from a different Universe!” He said it with such ease that it made Tony mad. “You wouldn’t know where the Avengers are would you?”

The girl bit her lip for a moment. Her eyes glanced away from Scott and Tony as if she was deciding on just what to say. “They’re all out on a mission.”

“Well, that’s alright. Would you be willing to help us?” Scott laughed, offering his hand in greeting. “Scott Lang, also known as Ant-Man. You may know me as the guy with the really cool magic tricks.”

Tony had to give it to the man, he was trying desperately to diffuse the situation, but it wasn’t working. All it did was make Tony’s chest grow tight and a small sliver of fear to begin to fester in the pit of his stomach.

“I’m Margaret and don’t worry I know you well enough. It’s been a while since you’ve come to visit though. I just wish it was under different circumstances.” Margaret said lightly, her hand taking Scott’s in a strong handshake.  Then she turned to Tony, her eyes hiding away something deeper behind a forced smile. “Mr. Stark…”

She pulled away from Scott and presented her hand to Tony. Her body was as tight as a drawn bowstring and Tony couldn’t help but think…  _ She looks like she’s ready to snap. _

Tony took her hand and he noted the calluses that scraped against his palm. Was the workshop hers? “Nice to meet you kid, now is there any adults? We’re on a tight schedule.” His voice was little too loud for the room and the edge that seemed to wrap around every word was hard to miss.

Margaret swallowed hard before she pulled back. “Let me get my father…”

Without a second glance, she turned around and walked out of the room again.

“Funny, she looks like you Stark,” Scott observed. He walked around the kitchen counter and began to rummage through the cupboards. “Wonder if they have anything good to eat.”

For a second Tony wished he had a moment to take in what Scott said, but his attention was snapped back to the hallway when he heard two hushed voices. Annoyance made the corner of Tony’s eyes blurred. “I would really love it if we got to work,” he called out, a dangerous hint that made his words come out harsh and demanding. His hands were shaking and it was getting hard to breathe. When was the last time he checked his arc reactor? His head felt a little light.

Scott dropped whatever it was he found and rushed to Tony’s side. “Hey, it’s going to be alright. We’ll get out of here.” His voice was soft and Tony could imagine Scott using it for his daughter. 

Margaret finally joined them again and behind her followed none other than Captain America himself.

If Tony could just snap his fingers and vanish he would have done it that moment.

This Universe had a different Steve. Its Steve was far older than the Steve back home. His hair was a little longer, streaked with white. The wrinkles on his face were deeper and the skin around his throat was a little loser. It looked like with age he had lost some of his muscle, but not by much. He still retained the strong commanding presence that Tony had tried desperately to hate.

Something bright caught Tony’s attention for a moment, a simple golden ring on Steve’s left hand.

Tony’s mind began to run at a million miles per second and for a painful moment, he tried to ignore the answer that was staring him right in the face.

He breathed in and looked between Steve and Margaret. “Who’s her mother?” He said coldly.

Steve met Tony’s gaze. “She doesn’t have a mother.”

“Then who the hell was she talking to on the phone?” Tony spat out.

“Her father.”

“Who’s that?”

Silence.

Margret rushed forward and stood between the two men. “It doesn’t matter who it is. All that matters is that we get you back home.” Her desperation was making her body tremble.

“Peggy, that’s enough.” Steve breathed out.

Before the girl could say another word Tony drowned her out. “Who wears the other ring, Rogers?” He was almost shouting.

Steve’s face tightened. He breathed, swallowed back the acid in his throat, and then he spoke. “You do…”

Tony snapped at that.

“What makes this Universe so fucking special?” He was enraged. “You’re telling me that we had a happily ever after? That we got married and had a fucking kid?”

Margret was pulled back by a strong arm on her shoulder. Her father stood between her and Tony. “Let me explain –“

Tony kept screaming.

“The last time I checked you were more than happy to leave me dying in Siberia. You were more than willing to tear the Avengers apart to keep the man who murdered my parents safe. You ripped my family away from me and made me look like the bad guy.” Tony could feel a burning behind his eyes. His blood was pounding in his ear, drowning out all the other noise. “Do you know how many times I woke up from the memory of you slamming your shield into my heart?”

Steve had the fucking audacity to try and reach out for Tony. His face twisted into a pained expression that made Tony mad all over again.

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on me.” Tony’s voice was a deadly silent growl.  

Before either man could figure out what had happened, Margaret pushed past her father. The only thing that Tony caught that the poor girl was crying. He was then pulled into a desperately tight embrace.

“He came back for you after Siberia,” she sobbed into Tony’s neck.

Tony looked past the girl’s shoulder to see Steve wiping away his own tears. The ring on his finger catching the light and making Tony’s soul shatter. He thought back to the dream he had with Pepper. The little kid that he dreamt of with bright eyes and chocolate hair. That little kid was right in front of him crying because her parents were arguing. He forgot where he was for a moment and wrapped his arms around his little girl.

Steve looked at them both with so much love in his eyes Tony had to hide his face in Margaret’s hair. The smell of lavender made everything in Tony’s body calm down. He took a deep breath and waited for his heart to stop hurting before he spoke. “My Steve never came back…” He whispered to Margaret.

He felt her hold grow a little tighter.

“That doesn’t change the fact that you are my father.”

She pulled away and wiped quickly at her face.  Strands of hair were coming loose to frame her face and Tony moved to tuck them behind her ear. The smile she gave him had Tony melting.

“Let me help you, we can go down to the workshop and figure something out. It can’t be too hard.” Her voice was bright and hopeful.

Tony couldn’t help but think that she sounded just like Steve.

He felt his lips turn up in a small smile. “Do you think you can keep up, kid?”

The look he got was all Stark. “Can you, old man?”

Scott bounced up to them and slapped his hands on both their shoulder. “Fuck yeah! Let’s do some science!”

Margaret threw her head back and laughed.

It sounded like music to Tony’s ears.

She turned quickly and rushed down to the workshop, Scott close to her heels.

That left Tony and Steve alone, both men far too distracted with their daughter to notice. That was until she was out of sight and they couldn’t hear her voice anymore.

Steve’s voice snapped Tony back to reality. “I’m sorry that I didn’t come back for you.”

Tony looked back at Steve with a guarded look. “The Steve in my Universe doesn’t love me. “

Before Steve could say anything to try and argue, Tony turned and walked away.

* * *

When they reached the workshop Margaret was setting up every single computer. Scott was left to the sidelines, looking in amazement and fiddling with their transporter.

Tony watched for a moment as Margaret raised her hand. A dozen screens flashed to light to project an image inches from her fingers. The projections followed wherever her hands pointed setting up what she needed.

She turned to look at Scott and held out her hand. The man was quick to hand her the device that had gotten them in this situation. It took only a couple of seconds for the computers to scan the small little box. Then within moments the entire device and every little thing within it was right in front of her. She enlarged one piece after the other trying to familiarize herself with as much as she could.

All three men watched as she slowly began to put pieces together, the light of the projections making her eyes dance.

Pride swelled in Tony’s chest at the sight.

Margaret turned to look past Scott and beckoned Tony with a nod of her head.

Scott smiled as the two began to get to work.

He went to the back of the workshop to keep Cap some company.

“Married, huh…” He said with a smirk.

Steve rolled his eyes and began to fiddle with the ring on his fingers. “It’s going to be twenty years in May.” His smile was soft and one of the utmost tenderness.

“So how does that work?” Scott asked, his eyes moving to look at Margaret.

“Pepper donated one of her eggs. Then Reed and Bruce were able to take Tony’s DNA and replace it. They used my sperm to fertilize it. The beauty of it was that we were able to choose the baby’s gender. Tony wanted a little girl and so did I.” Steve said. His eyes glazing over as he was taken back in time. He could remember the conversation with Tony like it had been yesterday. “They then created the very first uterine replicator.”

Scott whistled in amazement. “That’s fucking insane.” He looked between Steve and the others with newfound respect. “Being a parent is hard,” he added.

There was a comfortable silence between the two men for a while. Then a nagging feeling began to fester in Steve’s chest. “What’s your Universe like?”

At the question, Scott’s face darkened with grief. “We weren’t strong enough to stop Thanos. He took out half of the entire Universe and with it everyone we love.”

Steve felt his entire heart lurch.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

“It’s alright. That’s why we’re here. To try and make things right and bring everyone back.” The sad smile that Scott gave Steve made it all worse.

“Let me and my Tony come with you. Hell, I can assemble the Avengers and we can all go.” Steve tried to offer. Desperation pushing Steve to make impossible offers.

Scott shook his head. “This is our fight, not yours. No need to bring anyone else into this mess.”

Before Steve could say any more Scott added sadly. “From being from a different Universe, you sure are exactly like the Steve back home.”

A little ember of rage made Steve bite the inside of his cheek. “If I could I would have a few things to say to him. It looks like if he could only look past his own pride this wouldn’t happen.”

“How did you guys deal with Thanos?” Scott questioned.

Steve crossed his arms over his chest and took a steadying breath. He and Tony still had nightmares about that battle. “We had been able to get him in Wakanda. I told Thor to aim for the head and he did.”

Silence followed.

On the other side of the workshop, Tony called out. “We figured it out!”

Both men rushed forward as Margaret added the last few changes to their vortex manipulator.

Her head snapped up and she smiled at her father. “We’ll be able to get them back to their own Universe!”

“That’s great!” Scott cheered.

Tony took one last look at their equations making sure that everything was right. Then he breathed a sigh of relief. His shoulders dropped and he looked at Margaret with awe in his eyes. “That’s my girl. You were brilliant.”

The praise caught Margaret off-guard and for a moment she forgot that this Tony wasn’t really her father. She fought back the tears as she rushed to embrace his.

Scott clapped his hands together and went over to pick up the vortex manipulator.

“Let’s get out of here!”

Steve moved to stand beside Margaret as Tony took his place next to Scott. His hand resting on his shoulder to make sure that both men went through time together, but before Scott could put in the coordinates Tony stopped him.

“Can you wait for a minute, Scotty?” Tony asked gently.

His friend looked up at him with understanding. “Sure thing.”

Tony looked over at Margaret and Steve. His eyes shining with something hard to figure out. Then slowly he reached out and smiled kindly at his daughter. “Come here, my heart.” He beckoned.

The endearment made Margaret breath hitch and her soul soar. “Oh, Daddy,” she cried.

She ran up to Tony and threw herself into his arms. She felt a strong hand come up to cradle the back her head. The other coming to rest right between her shoulder blades.

They stood there for a moment in the other’s embrace. Taking in the comfort of their bond that had been able to traverse the entirety of time and space.

“I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect daughter,” Tony confessed in his daughter’s shoulder. “I’m so proud of you, sweetheart.” He heard the girl softly crying and he pulled back. His hands coming up to wipe away at her wet cheeks, her beautiful brown eyes shining like stars. Her smile made something like hope flourish for the first time in a long time within Tony. “I love you, brat.”

Margaret laughed at that, her body glowing. “I love you too, Dad.”

They broke away from each other, leaving Tony to stare past Margaret and locking eyes with Steve.

Tony nodded once, his eyes soft and sad. He turned around and began to make his way back to Scott.

Words began to float in Steve’s mind.

_ Mr. Stark, when I woke up in this era, I had no one. Nothing. You gave me a purpose, somewhere to belong… You gave me a home. _

“Tony…” Steve called out.

He took long sure strides towards the man that had given him everything, the man that even through times of war would still put everyone else before himself. The same man that would read bedtime stories to his daughter even when she was fourteen years old. The man that Steve loved with such ferocity that it scared him some time.

His hands came to grip tightly at Tony’s hips, pulling him flush against Steve’s body. Then within seconds, he pressed his lips against Tony’s. The small gasp that he kissed through made the entire world melt away.

Tony was helpless to fight it when all he had wanted for a long time was to kiss Steve Rogers. Now he was given the chance and he felt his heart break all over again. His hands came up and desperately grabbed at the side of Steve’s face. He tilted his head and deepened the kiss and felt a tongue peek out and lick at his bottom lip. A broke moan slipped past through his defenses and Steve moved his arms so that they wrapped over Tony’s back.

Air made their lungs burn and they broke away. Their foreheads pressed against one another and they shared air as they tried to stop the world from spinning.

“It doesn’t matter what Universe or timeline. I will always love you.” Steve breathed against Tony’s lips. “Be gentle with yourself. You and Steve deserve a soft epilogue, my darling. You are both good people and you have suffered enough.”

Tony’s eyes widened and tears began to gather in the corner. Slowly they began to fall and wet his face. “I’ve loved you since the beginning.” He whimpered.

“I loved you from the start too, desperately,” Steve said before kissing Tony one last time.

They broke away, Steve watching helplessly as Tony took his place beside Scott.

A small hand slipped in Steve’s and held it tightly.

“They are going to make it through it,” Margaret said with hope in her heart.

She waved her hand at the travelers and called out one last time. “Kick his ass!”

Steve heard Tony and Scott laugh, then there was a bright light and they were gone. Leaving only him and his daughter in the workshop.

“Let’s go upstairs and rest,” Steve said softly. 

* * *

In less than four hours they were going to go and find Thanos. In less than four hours they were most likely going to die.

Tony found himself knocking on Steve’s door.

“It’s me.” He offered.

The door opened to reveal a very worried looking Captain. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to see you,” Tony confessed.

Steve’s eyes softened and his hand reached out to take Tony’s. “I was thinking of heading to your room if I’m being honest.”

The smile that had Tony’s lips twitching made his face lose all the worry and fear that the impending battle had caused. His eyes were shining with something delicate and raw.

There was an unspoken promise between them at that moment.

_ When this all over, I’m going to tell you I love you. _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you again for taking the time to read my fic!!! It means the world! Let me know what you think!!


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